Dry cooling cabinet



y 1, 1952 c. C.TURQUE1TE,JR., ETAL 2,60 ,765

DRY COOLING CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9, 1948 CLYDE (1 Tu RQUETTE JR.

I ROLAND GALE wa y 1, 1952 c. c. TURQUETTE, JR, ETAL 2,601,765

DRY COOLING CABINET Z5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1948 P u m M w I 3 Rmv -h WM 7 Com 6 E l D kw Mr m w M *8 a k w 0 is m m a8 f we y 1, 1952 c. c. TURQUETTE, JR., ETAI; ,765

DRY COOLI NG CABINET 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 9, 1948 awe/Mo: CLYDE C TUR UETTE JR ROLAND GALE Patented July 1, 1952 DRY COOLING CABINET Clyde 0. Turquette, Jr., and Ronald Gale, Dallas, Tex., assignors to The Atlas Metal Works, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application October 9, 1948, Serial No. 53,652

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in dry cooling cabinets. v

The invention is particularly concerned with those types of cooling cabinets for bottled beverages, bottled milk, and similar articles, in which a current or blast of cold air is caused to flow over the bottles or containers, thereby cooling the same, as contrasted to those types of coolers in which the goods are immersed in a liquid cooling medium.

It is. therefore, a particular object of this invention to provide an improved dry cooling cabinet which operates efficiently and efiectively toflmaintain articles such as bottled beverages at the desired temperature without at the same time requiring the immersion or partial immersion of said articles in a liquid cooling medium.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved dry cooling cabinet in which the path of the cooling air currents is restricted and confined to the desired areas whereby loss of the cooling air is substantially minimized while eflicient and desirable cooling is maintained.

A still furtherobject of the invention is to provide an improved dry cooling cabinet in which the cooling air currents are directed in a substantially horizontal fashion through rows of the articles being cooled, and are forced to remain within the article containing portion of the cabinet whereby the upper side of the same may be left open without a serious loss of the cooling or refrigerating air currents.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved dry cooling cabinet having a shielding bafile through which articles may be inserted for cooling, but which functions to confine the cooling air currents and prevent their dissipation and loss. I v

'A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved dry cooling cabinet having a novel arrangement for the cooling coils.

Aconstruction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention. v

The invention will be more readily understood from a. reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein examples of the invention are shown:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of a dry cooling cabinet constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view of the cabinet shown in Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view of the cabinet,

12 Claims. (Cl. 62102) 2 Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, isometric view of one end of the cabinet showing the al return,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of the cabinet, the view being partially broken away to illustrate the structure,

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal, vertical, sectional view of the cabinet shown in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a vertical, cross-sectional view taken upon the line 'l---! of Fig. 6, N

Fig. 8 is an enlarged, vertical,cross-sectional view taken upon the line 88 of Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 is-a plan view, partially broken away, of a further modification of, the invention,

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal, vertical,gsectiona1 view of the modification shown in Fig. 9,

Fig. 11 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view of the cooling battles for the modification shown in Fig. 9, and i Fig. 12 is a vertical, cross-sectional view taken on the line [2-42 of Fig. 10.

In the drawings, the numeral II) designates an elongate, horizontal, rectangular housing having side walls I I and end walls Ill. The top I3 of the housing is open and is adapted to be closed by a suitable cover or lid (not shown). The housing also has a solid bottom I4, and the entire structure may be suitably insulated, as desired. However, for the sake of simplicity no insulation has been shown since any type may be used and since the invention is not concerned therewith.

A false bottom I5 extends parallel to the bottom I4 and is spaced a short, distance thereabove to define an elongate horizontal air passage IS in the lower portion of the housing. The false bottom I5 extends entirely across the housing between the side walls II, and also abuts the end walls I2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. A plurality of openings or cutouts I! are provided in the end portions of the false bottom immediately adjacent the end walls I2, said openings being arranged in a row extending transversely of each end of the housing. The end walls I2 have secured thereto angular deflectors I8 at each end of the false bottom I5, said deflectors overlying the openings H. In addition, an arcuate or concave gusset plate I9 is secured upon the underside of each of the deflectors I8 and in the apex thereof so that the gusset plate and deflectors together form a curved baffle which overlies each of the rows of openings I1. As will appear more fully hereinafter, air currents are directed toward each end of the housing through the air passage I6, and pass upwardly through the openings I 1. The bafiles formed by the gusset plates l9 and deflectors I8 the same, there will be substantially no air flow or agitation in the portion of the housing above the bottles and above the hood 25. In this manher, a dead air space or blanket of non-agitated air will be maintainedin the upper portion of the housing I0 and there is noloss or dissipation of refrigerated air thereinto or therethrough.

bottle space over the entirewidth of the housing at each end thereof. In this manner, zones or areas of extremely high velocity air currents are avoided, and the tendency for such air currents to go astray and escape from the cooling zone is eliminated. A steady uniform flow of cold air over the bottles is maintained, and since vertical vectors in the direction of air flow are eliminated, there is no tendency for the air to pass into the upper portion of the housing and thus be lost for any useful purpose- A modified form of the cooling arrangement is shown in Figs. 9 through 12 of the drawings, in which the cooling fins 3| are eliminated, and instead a plurality of concentric, hollow, open ended, frustro-conical cooling elements 32 are positioned in vertical alignment withjthe stack and at the lower end thereof. Suitable cool ing coils 33 are secured to the elements 32 and cool said elements to affect the desired refrigeration of the air currents passing thereover. This structure functions to refrigerate the air and at the same time to deflect and direct the air in a radial fashion as was previously accomplished by the deflector 28. Having been cooled and correctly directed by the cooling element 32, the air currents flow through the air passage l6 and upwardly through the openings I! as previously described. This type of cooling structure requires a slightly deeper housing than the structure first described but permits the obtaining of lower temperatures since additional cooling coil area may be employed.

A modification of the cooling cabinet is shown in Figs. 5 through 8 and is particularly adapted for the cooling and refrigerating of large numbers of identical and uniform containers, such as bottles of soft drinks. The structure involved is identical in many respects to that shown in Figs. 1 through 4, but the hood is dispensed with, and instead, an elongate rectangular shield 34 is positioned horizontally within the housing a distance above the false bottom 15. The distance of spacing of the shield 34 above the false bottom is equivalent to about two-thirds or threequarters of the height of the usual soft drink bottle, and a large number of staggered openings 35 are cut in the shield 34 for the purpose of receiving said bottles. Thus, the bottles may be lowered through the openings 35 to rest on the false bottom l5 which may or may not carry the guides 29, as desired, and the upper extremity of said bottles will remain projecting upwardly through said openings whereby the bottles may readily be grasped and removed from the cabinet. The positioning of the shield 34 is determined by downwardly turned flanges 36 at each end thereof, the flanges abutting the end walls H and having their lower edges resting upon the upper portion of the angular deflectors I8. By employing the shield 34, the cooling air currents passing upwardly through the opening I! are further confined'and restricted, and only the minimum amount of communication between the upper portion of the housing and the cooling zone, is permitted. This minimum amount is that required for insertion and removal of the articles being cooled, and the portions of the shield between the openings 35 serve as a battle to insure further that no stray currents of the cooling air will escape to the upper portion of the housing. The central portion 36 of the shield 34 which overlies the stack 20 is imperforate to prevent the fan 22 from drawing air from the upper portion of the housing and restricts the air intake of the fan to the space beneath the shield 34.' With this structure, a high degree of confinement for the refrigerating air currents is achieved, and at the same time, proper'spacing of the containers for cooling is assured, it being pointed out that the containers are spaced longitudinally as well as laterally within the cooling cabinet.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various-changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A dry cooling cabinet including, a housing havingside walls and end walls and a closed bottom. a false bottcn in the housing above the closed bottom forming an air passageway along said closed bottom, a relatively short open-ended stack extending through the false bottom and communicating between the spaces thereabove and therebelow, a fan in the stack, a hood overlying the upper end of the stack, the false bottom having an opening at each end adjacent the housing end walls, deflectors overlying the openings for directing air toward the stack, and cooling means for the air passing through the fan, the stack having its upper end disposed a substantial distance below the upper ends of the side and end walls of the housing and adjacent the horizontal plane of the deflectors.

2. A dry cooling cabinet including, a housing having side walls and end walls and a closed bottom, a false bottom in the housing above the closed bottom forming an air passageway along said closed bottom, a relatively short open-ended stack extending through the false bottom and communicating between the spaces thereabove and therebelow, a fan in the stack, a hood overlying the upper end of the stack, the false bottom having an opening at each end adjacent the housing end walls, deflectors overlying the openings for directing air toward the stack, the deflectors being positioned in a horizontal plane closely adjacent the horizontal plane of the under surface of the hood, whereby air is caused to flow in a substantially horizontal path over the upper surface of the false bottom, and cooling means for the air passing through the fan.

3. A dry cooling cabinet including, a housing having side walls and end Walls and a closed bottom, a false bottom inthe housing above the closed bottom forming an air passageway along said closed bottom, the false bottom having an opening at each end adjacent the housing end walls through which air may flow, deflectors overlying the openings for directing air passing upwardly through the latter toward the center of the housing in a horizontal plane, a relatively short open-ended stack extending through the center of the false bottom and receiving air flowing from said openings, the stack having its upper end disposed in a horizontal plane closely adjacent the horizontal plane of the deflectors whereby the flow of air from the deflectors through the stack is maintained in a substantially horizontal plane, a fan in the stack, and means for cooling the flowing air.

'4. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim 3, and a shield overlying the open upper end of the stack and positioned adjacent thereto to limit the intake of the stack to a horizontal plane adjacent the horizontal plane of the air currents passing to the stack from the .openings at each end of the false bottom.

5. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cooling means is disposed in the air passageway between the closed bottom and the false bottom.

t. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim 3, and a radial deflector carried by the closed bot-tom below the open lower end of the stack.

7. A dry coolingcabinet as set forth in claim 3 wherein 'the cooling means is a plurality of truncated concentric cones carrying cooling coils.

8. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim 3 wherein the cooling means is a plurality of truncated concentric hollow cones having cooling coils secured thereto.

'9. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim .3 and adapted for the cooling of beverage con-v tainers received upon the false bottom, wherein,

the deflectors and the open upper end of the stack are positioned in horizontal planes a distance above the false bottom lesser than the height of the containers.

10'. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim 3, and a horizontal plate in the housing above the false bottom having an imperforate center spaced above the stack, the plate having a plurality of openings therein for receiving the bodies of beverage containers resting upon the false bottom.

11. A dry cooling cabinet as set forth in claim lo'wherein the plate is positioned in .a horizontal plane a distance above the false bottom lesser REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,219,912 Bireley Oct. 29, 1940 2,442,882 Tull .June 8, 1948 2,546,417 Ang-lln Mar. 27, 1951 

